On Wednesday, April 3, 2019, Premier Brian Pallister said that the provincial government will be taking the federal government to court over their decision to impose a carbon tax on Manitoba.

Manitoba had developed its own plan which included a flat carbon tax of $25 per tonne but backed away from the tax portion when the federal government said they would impose rates on the province that were equal to the federal rates. The federal carbon tax is slated to increase to $50 per tonne by 2022.

“Last year, our government received legal advice the federal government has the constitutional power to impose a carbon tax, but only on provinces that do not implement plans of their own,” said the premier.  “The result was our Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan, which is better for Manitoba’s economy, and better for our environment.”

The premier said that even though Ottawa admitted that Manitoba’s Green Plan was the best in Canada they would not permit the province to have a flat tax and insisted that they would impose the higher federal rates. Pallister said that the federal government has given special treatment and exemptions to other provinces and that is unfair to Manitobans.

“There is no justification for the federal government to have rejected Manitoba’s plan while approving less effective plans from other provinces.”